Pictured to the right is the infamous "King of Kong" antagonist himself Billy Mitchell. As a kid he was apparently featured in Time magazine for video game prowess. I've only heard this anecdote secondhand and never seen the actual magazine itself, though his Wikipedia profile mentions it as though it was fact, without their usual citation pointing you to the source. It also mentions something else though. This ball really got rolling in February of this year:

BILLY MITCHELL IS A CONFIRMED CHEATER AND HAS BEEN STRIPPED OF ALL HIS WORLD RECORDS BY BOTH TWIN GALAXIES AND GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS.

Even though Apollo Legend's video on the subject was compelling, it wasn't until Twin Galaxies disqualified Mitchell last week after their own internal investigation that Guinness World Records followed suit. As a result none of Mitchell's high scores are officially recognized any more, even ones that ironically enough he may have achieved legitimately as a child in the 1980's when he first came to Time magazine's attention. It's not as though he couldn't have seen this coming though. Besides being a blowhard in "King of Kong" as seen in the clip above, Mitchell is notoriously prickly about his image, even SUING Cartoon Network over a parody of him on "Regular Show."

Thankfully the lawsuit was thrown out with the judge noting that Billy Mitchell isn't "a giant floating head from outer space." The irony is that his pomposity and ego created enough hot air to carry Mitchell into the stratosphere anyway. For decades Mitchell has been one of gaming's most toxic figures - worshiped by those believed his self-aggrandizing tales of being the greatest, hated by those who suspected he was full of s--t the whole time. Much like Todd Rogers before him though the verdict is now in. Rogers was caught trying to falsify impossible to achieve high scores and had his records removed. Mitchell's scores were at least plausible, but the fact he lied about how he got them (using saves states via emulators) make them just as fraudulent. If you think Mr. American Flag Tie is done though I've got bad news -- he's itching for a fight and plans to prove his innocence. Good luck to him.